Book #5
#5 - The Time Travelers Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
The fact that I just got around to reading this book even though everyone else and their mother has read it (come on, when since Harry Potter have I read a book in the top 50 on amazon?) and reccomended it to me. Ironically? If a lot of different people reccomend something to me? I won't read it. In this case, it was good enough to have spent time on it, but not good enough for me to reccomend anyone else read it. I won't spoil the concept (really just for citycat who I know hasn't read it since i stole it before she could) but I guess I just didn't find it as engaging as some of the other books I've been reading.
Also? I'm 10% of the way to my promised total and only have 94% of the year remaining - this may be more challenging than I thought.
Labels: books
Jodi Picoult Strikes Again
#4 - Salem Falls by Jodi Picoult
(for someone who randomly stumbles across my blog who does NOT know me - yes, I managed to work a full-ish day at work, work at home for several hours, and still manage to finish a whole Jodi Picoult novel by 2am. I read fast, ok?)
Jodi Picoult's books, from what I can tell, like to pick up a thread of little-known culture (the Amish, Wicca, etc) and use that as a backdrop for the story she weaves. Also, her books almost always tend to deal with some kind of abuse. In this case, we got the abuse we were looking for in The Pact on the last page of this book, but also a neat dualism between all of the pairings in this book. Except I kept getting detectives, deputies, and children mixed up. Plus, maybe I really just didn't get into The Pact as much but Jordan McAfee's storyline wasn't as compelling as I wanted it to be. Overall though... I liked the book a lot.
Reflections on reading and literacy
When people hear how much I read, a frequent question that I get is, "What is your favorite book?" I have always struggled with ranking books that I read. That isn't to say that I don't have books or series that I run back to. Often. When I'm looking for "comfort reading." As I kid, I didn't read the "good" books. I think I read all 152 Babysitters club books that were published at the time, not to mention all sorts of other junk reading. My idea of classics extended really only to Madeleine L'Engle and Louisa May Alcott. I was in college before I saw Jane Austen as more than a chore and I still am surprised at the holes I have in my already-read repetoire.
And sometime, I'll have a non-Jodi Picoult book in this 50 books.
This feels like an adult Book-It except without the free pizza.
Oh, by the way? I found something I NEED in my life. I need about twenty of these in my life: The ThumbThing. All of my turned pinkies and sore thumbs could be behind me! Behold! I could hold open books wherever I go! Now, to find out where to purchase one...sigh.
commentary on the template...I know, I know--it is getting better and worse at the same time. deal.
Labels: books
